Cranberry-assorting apparatus.



' -'Nu.-702,583'., Patentedlune l7, m2.

' A. E. NIGHTINGALE.

CRANBERRY ASSORTING APPARATUS.

(Application filed. Aug. 31, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet i.

(No Model.)

, [NV/ENTOA 1 No. 702,583. I ;Pat ented.;l une l7, |902.

I A. E. NIBHTlNGALE. CRANBERRY ASSDRTING APPARATUS.

Ap lication filed Aug. 31, 1901-.

(No Model.) 2 Shank-sheet 2.

.U ITED STATES PATENT O ICE,

ALVIN-E. NIGHTINGALE, or PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS.

'CRANBERRY-ASSORTING APPARATUS.

SPEGQEEIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 702,583, dated June 17, 1902.

' Application filed August 31. 1901. Serial No. 73.990. (No model.) i

T at whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, AL IN E. NIGHTINGALE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Plymouth, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, havein'vented certain new and useful Improvements inOranberry-Assorting Apparatus; an'd'I do declare the following to, be a full, clear, and'exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appera tains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification. I

.This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for sorting cranberries; and it consistsin the provision of means whereby the sound berries are separated from the soft or defective ones and conveyed into separate receptacles, p The invention consists, specifically, in the provision of a chutehaving a rack inwhich is journaled a series .of rollers fWhlOll are adapted to be rotated by belted connection with one anotherandonto the upper of which berries are conveyed and allowed to fall .by gravity from a hopper, a second rack having a series of steps, which rack-isadjustably mounted within the chute and over which the sound berries are adapted to fall after bound; ing from the upper roller of the chute, brushes being providedfor cleaning the rollers as they rotate within the bearings within the chute.

,The invention consists, further, of various details and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this application, and in which drawings- -Figure 1v is a central vertical section through my apparatus. Fig.- 2. is a detail view of the set of rollers shown as detached from the frame of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the rack carrying the step member over which the sound berries fall after being separated from the defective ones. Fig. 4 is a frontview of the apparatus, showing the parts adjusted in place.

in place in theiframe.

.Fig. is a detail view of the brush attach- A ments for cleaning the rollers.

Referencenow being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates the frame of the apparatus, which has an inclined chute A, mounted on legs B, and supported upon the upper end ofthe frame is a hopper C, whieh is detachably held thereto in a suitable manner, as by means of hooks D. Mounted between. the inner walls of the inclined sides A of the chute is a rack E,which is fastened to the rear longitudinal edges of said inclined side pieces, and at intervals along said rack are horizontallydisposed brushes F, which are adapted to bear against and clean rollers, which willbe presently described.

. IG. designates amok in which is journaled a are horizontally disposedand fastened to theinner walls of the side pieces A, the rear longitudinal edges of the rack G, adapted to rest upon the edges of the rack E, carrying said brushes; while the upper inclined ends of the .rack engage against the under faces of the strips I, which are horizontallydisposed at the upper end of the side'piecesA. A crosspiece I is fastened horizontally between the upper ends of the side pieces A, and the upper inclined ends of the side pieces of rack G are adapted to be held in contact with the under edges of piece I when the rack is adjusted When said rack containing the rollers is adjusted in place, one of said brushes will be positioned adjacent to each roller, adapted to contact with same as the rollers against which'the imperfect berries come in contact'are caused to be rotated. Between the rollers are the cross-pieces L, which prevent the defective berries gfrom clinging to the'rollers asthey are rotated- M designates the belt, which has connection with the pulleys on the ends of the several rollers, and for driving said rollers a crank N is provided, which has belted connection with a pulley N,'projecting from the Ioo end of one of the spindles of the rollers. Said belt also passes over a pulley N on a fanshaft having wings N which are mounted in a casing N communicatin g with the space directly underneath the hopper, whereby the berries are winnowed as they are fed from the hopper down upon the rollers beneath. J ournaled between the walls of the frame adjacent to the outlet end of the hopper is a feed-roller O, which is driven by means of belted connection with the wheel N.

Q designates the longitudinal side pieces of a rack, which has transverse steps R mounted between said strips, the lower ends of the strips being inclined and adapted to rest upon said cleats J, with the inner longitudinal edges of the strips resting against the adjacent edges of the strips of the rack carrying said rollers. These steps are disposed at an angle between the side pieces Q, and in order to adjust the step-carrying rack to properly assert cranberries of different sizes said rack is made adjustable, being adapted to be raised or lowered accordingly as may be desired. A simple means of adjusting this rack may be by means of blocks or wedge-shaped pieces which are inserted underneath the bottom of the longitudinal edges. A drawer or receptacle S is placed at the bottom of the chute underneath the lower end of the step-rack,while a box or receptacle may be placed underneath the lower ends of the rack carrying the rollers for the purpose of receiving the imperfect or defective berries.

In operation the berries are first placed in the hopper and are fed through the outlet by means of the feed-roller, and the draft from the fan will winnow the berries and force the same against the .inclined face I of the transverse strip, and the whole sound berries will bound forward over the upper and outer portion of the step-rack and will fall down over the steps and into the receptacle at the bottom, while the soft or defective berries having no rebound will be carried by the rollers down over the latter and fall by gravity into a receptacle positioned underneath the same for their reception. As the rollers are caused to rotate the brushes being held in contact with the circumference of each roller will thoroughly clean the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus for asserting cranberries, comprising a frame, a removable rack, consisting of two longitudinal strips with diagonally-disposed ends, a series of rollers journaled in said strips, cross pieces mounted between said rollers, and fastened to said strips, cleats supporting said rack, and a longitudinally-movable step-carrying rack, held in contact with the roller-carrying rack, as set forth. 7

2. An apparatus for assorting cranberries, comprising in combination with the frame, a removable roller-carrying rack, having its ends diagonally disposed, cleats on which said rack is supported, cross-pieces fastened to said rack, and positioned between the rollers, a longitudinally-movable rack and steps carried thereby, cross-pieces I, against which the upper ends of the racks contact, and a wedge underneath said step-carrying rack, provided to hold the latter against the under edges of said strips I, the adjacent longitudinal edges of said racks, adapted to be held in contact with each other, as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in. presence of two witnesses.

ALVIN E. NIGHTINGALE.

Witnesses:

JOSIAH MORTON, SIMEoN l3. NIGHTINGALE. 

